charcoal-gray RX7 with a sunroof, and Washington plates: 541-AHX. The last time her parents had seen Jami, she had been wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and new white tennis shoes.
The Redmond police no longer believed that she hadrun away or taken a vacation from her life. They worked now to learn as much about her world as possible. It didn't take long for them to find out that Steven Sherer had a long rap sheet, mostly for traffic offenses and harassment, and that he was on record for having an incredibly violent temper. But then, Lew Adams, the man Jami had seen the night before she vanished, wasn't exactly an upstanding citizen either. Both Sherer and Adams were known cocaine users. The obvious conclusion was that one of them knew what had become of Jami, but there was always the slight chance that she had been abducted by a stranger who spotted the beautiful young mother somewhere between her home and her parents' home early Sunday afternoon.
Jami would have made a perfect victim. She was distraught and frightened about what would happen now that she was finally leaving Steve, and she told her mother during their last phone call that she was hurrying to get out of her house before Steve came home. She would have been a prime target for someone who wanted to grab her— too distracted and too tiny to put up much of a fight. The chances of a stranger abduction were slim, but it had to be considered.
If the investigators couldn't find Jami, they needed to find her car, which might contain evidence or, in the worst-case scenario, Jami's body. Meanwhile they set out to learn what motivation someone might have had to kill her.
On October 2, Sergeant L. M. "Butch" Watson got a page from Lew Adams shortly after 8:00 P.M. When he talked to Adams, Watson noted that the man was extremely emotional, and concerned that Steve Sherer had harmed Jami. Asked why he felt that way, Lew Adams said that Steve had "many things over Jami"and that Steve was a recovering alcoholic with a gambling addiction. Steve had apparently confided in Adams that he had committed a number of crimes, including robberies in California.
That was interesting, but not necessarily a motive for murder. Finally, Lew Adams admitted that he had been sexually involved with Jami on about five occasions. The first three had been Steve's idea. "He likes to watch," Adams said.
Steve had manipulated both Lew Adams and Jami into having sex. He woke Adams up as he slept one night, intoxicated, on the Sherers' couch and told him to come into the master bedroom. There he awakened Jami too and began to remove her nightclothes as if offering a prize to Adams.
Over the next few weeks, Lew Adams said, he had watched Steve badger Jami, drug her, and coax her until she finally capitulated and participated, albeit unwillingly, in the threesome that Steve wanted. Steve's impotence made him a voyeur rather than a participant.
On the third occasion, Lew Adams said that Steve had videotaped them. It had all been for Steve's pleasure, Adams said. He was positive that Jami had been mortified over the whole episode.
What Steve didn't count on was that Jami was so desperate for a helping hand and kind words that she began to visualize an actual relationship with Lew.
After being married to Steve for three years, her self-esteem was practically nonexistent, and Lew Adams was the first man in years who had roused her long-dormant belief that she could love a man again— or that any man would want her.
So Jami obediently dressed in the garish outfits Steve bought her: spike heels, diaphanous lingerie,miniskirts, and long black gloves. But that wasn't her; that was a woman acting out a part that her husband had written for her. Lew and Jami halfheartedly went through the motions, following Steve's directions for his homemade porno movie. Lew couldn't imagine that a man would use his own wife like that, and he was ashamed afterward.
In the resultant videotape, it was obvious that
The Redmond police no longer believed that she hadrun away or taken a vacation from her life. They worked now to learn as much about her world as possible. It didn't take long for them to find out that Steven Sherer had a long rap sheet, mostly for traffic offenses and harassment, and that he was on record for having an incredibly violent temper. But then, Lew Adams, the man Jami had seen the night before she vanished, wasn't exactly an upstanding citizen either. Both Sherer and Adams were known cocaine users. The obvious conclusion was that one of them knew what had become of Jami, but there was always the slight chance that she had been abducted by a stranger who spotted the beautiful young mother somewhere between her home and her parents' home early Sunday afternoon.
Jami would have made a perfect victim. She was distraught and frightened about what would happen now that she was finally leaving Steve, and she told her mother during their last phone call that she was hurrying to get out of her house before Steve came home. She would have been a prime target for someone who wanted to grab her— too distracted and too tiny to put up much of a fight. The chances of a stranger abduction were slim, but it had to be considered.
If the investigators couldn't find Jami, they needed to find her car, which might contain evidence or, in the worst-case scenario, Jami's body. Meanwhile they set out to learn what motivation someone might have had to kill her.
On October 2, Sergeant L. M. "Butch" Watson got a page from Lew Adams shortly after 8:00 P.M. When he talked to Adams, Watson noted that the man was extremely emotional, and concerned that Steve Sherer had harmed Jami. Asked why he felt that way, Lew Adams said that Steve had "many things over Jami"and that Steve was a recovering alcoholic with a gambling addiction. Steve had apparently confided in Adams that he had committed a number of crimes, including robberies in California.
That was interesting, but not necessarily a motive for murder. Finally, Lew Adams admitted that he had been sexually involved with Jami on about five occasions. The first three had been Steve's idea. "He likes to watch," Adams said.
Steve had manipulated both Lew Adams and Jami into having sex. He woke Adams up as he slept one night, intoxicated, on the Sherers' couch and told him to come into the master bedroom. There he awakened Jami too and began to remove her nightclothes as if offering a prize to Adams.
Over the next few weeks, Lew Adams said, he had watched Steve badger Jami, drug her, and coax her until she finally capitulated and participated, albeit unwillingly, in the threesome that Steve wanted. Steve's impotence made him a voyeur rather than a participant.
On the third occasion, Lew Adams said that Steve had videotaped them. It had all been for Steve's pleasure, Adams said. He was positive that Jami had been mortified over the whole episode.
What Steve didn't count on was that Jami was so desperate for a helping hand and kind words that she began to visualize an actual relationship with Lew.
After being married to Steve for three years, her self-esteem was practically nonexistent, and Lew Adams was the first man in years who had roused her long-dormant belief that she could love a man again— or that any man would want her.
So Jami obediently dressed in the garish outfits Steve bought her: spike heels, diaphanous lingerie,miniskirts, and long black gloves. But that wasn't her; that was a woman acting out a part that her husband had written for her. Lew and Jami halfheartedly went through the motions, following Steve's directions for his homemade porno movie. Lew couldn't imagine that a man would use his own wife like that, and he was ashamed afterward.
In the resultant videotape, it was obvious that
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